One seventh of the world are Catholics. It seems their leader, Pope Francis, having floundered for a while, is beginning to make his mark, not just now, but with his appointments, for the future, one of which has had a clash with Donald Trump's running mate

In 1947 the population of Bethlehem was 85 per cent Christian; in 2014 it is 18 per cent and still declining. In the Old City of Jerusalem, the Christians amount to 14,000 or 1.5 per cent of the total population, compared with 500,000 Jews and 288,000 Muslims. Christianity is under threat in the Holy land

Politics has evolved from a sometimes stern defence of core values to the championing of sentimental causes by politicians who often have no other way of showing that they are still in touch with the voters